Monkey Puzzle and Dahlia Love 🐝

                                          My little Monkey Puzzle Tree 🐝

Are you having a restful Sunday ? I hope so . Love and Peace  🤍 and a Hug for you  🤍 Debbie x

🌿Various jobs in the garden today 🌿🐒

 

Pittosporum , Crocosmia "Lucifer" also known as Montbretia -seed pod sprays , Cotinus coggygria "Royal Purple" , one little Dahlia flower, Agapanthus -seed pod spray .

  Aha ! Found the Grape-vine snips !  🍇🌿

                                Decided to leave out the Dahlia flower .

        I like the simplicity of just the seed pod sprays .

Flowers for the table done , got on and thinned out the grapes .

...and while I was there , I made a very tiny start on clearing around my little Monkey Puzzle Tree .

It's doing well . Seems to be developing two leader shoots . Should I remove one of these ? 

I need to have a think about that 🤔🐒 Anyone got any ideas on this ? 

Then I made a start on clearing these brambles, which are blocking my pathway .

It has to be clear so that I can get up there ,and yes , it is on a slope , and do maintenance work , pruning and such like on all the shrubs and trees .

 There are no bird's nesting in these brambles and I'm not pruning any bushes just yet .

I decided to clear about two feet of brambles into this thicket .

I told my brother that if he hasn't heard from me in a couple of days , to let people know I'm somewhere under the Bramble thicket .

I achieved clearing two feet of the horrid spikey things .

I could have cleared a bit more but I'd filled the wheelbarrow and it was time for elevenses .

I put everything away and maybe I'll do a bit more this afternoon .

             Maybe 

                Maybe not 

                                            🌧️🌦️🌧️🌧️🌧️

Yesterday evening 's walk along the cliffs . 

    Darkening sky with rain coming in....the fields looking so dry . 

I hope that some of this rain will head up north to put out the fires on the beautiful North York Moors .

                         Thinking of you -  love Debbie  x

🌿🍌Banana Plants 🍌🌿

 

                   My new one Musa basjoo .     Musa ensete ventricosum "Maurellii " .

                                             Time to plant out my Bananas !

So Musa ensete ventricosum "Maurellii" with it's lovely red leaves , I've had for years ....maybe ten years or more .

Every year I plant it out and in the Autumn I dig it up and bring it in under cover to protect it through the winter . 

It is one fabulous looking Musa one of the very best in my opinion .

Last year I bought two very small Musa basjoo plants . This variety is more hardy . They were too small to plant out last year , they wouldn't have made it through the winter months , but I think that by the end of the season they should be o.k. to leave out  . 

                      Naturally , this involved  more weeding ! 

           Then deciding which one to go where ? Oh ..and digging out two big holes ! 

🐜🐜I was mercilessly bitten by ants as I tipped out the big Musa ensete from it's pot ; rolled and dropped it into position .🐜 I would have liked it a couple more inches along , but I couldn't bear any more of the ants stings !

It was quite a large nest ! 🐜🐜🐜

    I was so glad to have them planted out , as we have rain coming this evening to water and settle them in .

      They should really get growing fast after this evening and over-night rain . 

 

  I brushed away the compost on the lawn . The robin will enjoy the ants eggs .

So that leaves just one more Musa to plant out and that one will be going up on the bank . ..but not today . Exhausted !

 Earlier I began tidying the herb garden , also taking a couple of leaves off of the Phoenix canariensis up beside the greenhouse .. Another big job . No pics of that as I had just thrown myself into doing it on the spur of the moment . Still a long way to go , maybe pictures tomorrow , but it will mostly be of more weeds !  Maybe another bonfire .

I finally got round to planting out those Liatris spicata bulbs . In this bed are the Giant Dinner-plate Dahlias , Scarlet Hollyhocks , Nicotiana and Sunflowers . I have put chicken-wire around them to keep the bunnykins off .  A snail has already munched one of my Sunflowers ! grrr .. 🐌

                  Monkey Puzzle tree is looking proper handsome now !

That's all fer today folks ! Thundery rain on the way this evening . The wind is already starting to pick up .

                                                              ☀️ 🌥️☁️ ⛈️

 

 

Veltheimia bracteata - South African Forest Lily Flowers 🩷🌿

 

The Veltheimia bracteata - South African Forest Lily  on my kitchen windowsill  , beginning to open her flower buds .

Not much to show you as today was spent clearing out three more heavy wheelbarrow loads of my cacti and succulents and bringing them into the porch and summerhouse .

I am in trouble for breaking the new (but secondhand) lawnmower . No idea what I did wrong but now it doesn't work . Maybe something to do with the batteries over heating or something . No idea .... but it was me ...I broke it . 

 So here's another pic of the lovely Veltheimia bracteata South African Forest Lily .

And another ...... the only thing that made me feel happy today .  

Oh ....and I planted out the other Monkey Puzzle Tree that I grew from seed/nut .🐒 That also made me feel happy  . 

The photo came out pink due to the amazing light we had just before the sun set .

I'll get some better photos of the little Monkey Puzzle tree tomorrow hopefully .

       Aching , feeling unloved and flaming fed up with a stupid lawnmower  !

                                                     🌿🐒🌿